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Are you concerned about how much food we waste? I know I am and a good way to stop the waste is to come up with ways to use leftovers that are not boring. Another way to not be wasteful, is to keep track of your food purchases that you keep in the refrigerator and the pantry. The bell peppers that looked so beautiful at the market won’t look that way when you find them in the back of the refrigerator vegetable bin two weeks later.

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Recently, I roasted a pan of winter root vegetables and served them with slices of leftover turkey meatloaf. You can see the recipe for the Apple, Sage and Turkey Meatloaf on the post link:

http://jovinacooksitalian.com/2016/01/05/healthy-weeknight-meat-entrees/

The meatloaf and the roasted vegetables went very well together. Of course, there were plenty of roasted vegetables leftover and I decided to make a Roasted Vegetable Galette with the leftover vegetables for another meal later in the week.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Ingredients

  • 4 medium golden beets peeled and quartered
  • 6 medium red-skinned potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths
  • 2 bunches fresh carrots, tops removed and cut into thirds
  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, core removed and cut into eighths
  • 6 large cauliflower florets cut from one head
  • 2 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • Several thyme stalks and sage leaves
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix together the oil and honey on a large baking sheet with sides. Add the vegetables and garlic and mix until all the vegetables are coated in the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and distribute the herbs evenly over the vegetables.

Bake for an hour or until the vegetables are tender and browned. Stir the vegetables after about 30 minutes to prevent sticking.

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Roasted Vegetable Galette

Tip: Make 2 Galettes – one for dinner and one to freeze. The extra Galette will come in handy on a night you do not feel like cooking. All it needs is a salad. I made a cucumber salad to go with our dinner and it was just right.

One Galette serves 4

Ingredients

  • Two prepared 9 inch pastry rounds
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
  • 6 cups diced roasted root vegetables, divided

To assemble the Galettes:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place parchment paper on two large baking sheets with sides.

Place one pastry round on each baking sheet.

Place 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese in the center of each pastry round and top each with 3 cups of the diced roasted vegetables, leaving a 1 ½ inch pastry border.

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Brush the uncovered pastry with water.

Fold the border up and over the filling to form a rim, pleating as you go. See photo above.

Bake the Galettes until the crust is golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm.

Wrap the second Galette in heavy duty foil, place in a freezer ziplock bag and freeze.

When you are ready to use the second Galette, place the foil wrapped Galette on a baking sheet in a 400 degree F oven and heat for about 45 minutes. Open the foil and expose the top of the Galette during the last 15 minutes of baking.

cucumber salad 1

Dilled Cucumber Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 English cucumbers
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1/3 cup Greek low-fat yogurt
  • 1/2 teaspoon agave syrup or honey
  • 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh dill, finely chopped or 1 tablespoon dried dill
  • 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar

Directions

Halve cucumbers lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out and discard the seeds. Slice crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick pieces.

Toss the cucumbers with 2 teaspoons salt and place them in a colander set over a bowl. Let stand 15 minutes.

In a medium serving bowl, combine the yogurt, dill, vinegar, agave and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

Remove the cucumbers from the colander and pat dry with paper towels. Add to the bowl with the yogurt dressing; toss to combine. Chill until serving time.